Activity management system and method, active management apparatus, client terminal and computer program

ABSTRACT

A CRM server sends to a client terminal activity data that has been read from a DB server, and directs the display thereof. When the activity data has been received from the CRM server, a client terminal obtains the screen data of a calendar screen is generated. Then a screen data for the activity detail screen that displays the activity data, screen data for an activity calendar screen is generated after display data for displaying information about a portion of the content of the activity has been added to screen data for a calendar screen in a field corresponding to a date and time shown by the activity data, and these generated screens are output on one screen.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priority toU.S. application Ser. No. 11/250,193, filed on Oct. 13, 2005, andentitled, “Activity Management System and Method, Active ManagementApparatus, Client Terminal, and Computer Program” which claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §119, to Japan Application Serial No.: 2004-302217,filed Oct. 15, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an activity management system andmethod, an activity management apparatus, client terminal, and computerprogram.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems manageinformation about the business activities of employees. In particular,in the case of a CRM system that uses a client server system, theregistration of information about business activities is carried outusing an information registration screen that is displayed when the CRMserver is accessed from a client terminal carried by an employee. A webscreen is used in the information registration screen.

Patent Citation 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, ApplicationNo. 2000-293585) discloses a technology in which a list display and acalendar display of medical examination dates are displayed on the samescreen, and the moving or switching of one is linked to the switching ormoving of the other.

When an employee registers information about business activities in aCRM system, the date and time that the business activity was carried outare input. However, the operation in which an employee who carries outthe registration inputs of the date and time for each business activityfrom a keyboard each time is complicated. Thus, there has been a demandfor carrying out the input easily by indicating the appropriate date andtime using a pointing device such as a mouse on a calendar screen forgraphically displaying a calendar and time periods. Thus, it isdesirable to display on one screen the calendar screen provided bycommercially available general-use scheduling management applications orthe like and the registration screen for information about businessactivities using the web in a CRM system, and at the same time,performing editing such as additions, modifications, or deletions ofdata by linking these screens.

However, in the technology of citation 1, while the list display andcalendar display of the medical examination dates are displayed on thesame screen and the moving and switching of one is linked to theswitching and moving of the other, the edited data on one screen is notalso reflected and displayed in the other screen in real time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In consideration of the problem described above, the present inventionhas an object of providing an activity management system and method, anactivity management apparatus, a client terminal, and a computer programthat display on one screen the calendar screen provided by applicationsmaintained in the client terminal and the registration screen for theinformation about the business activities managed by the CRM system, andat the same time, can carry out editing and displaying of informationabout the business activities by linking these screens.

In order to solve the problems described above, the present inventionprovides an activity management system that includes a client terminal(1) that directs the management of activity data that includesinformation about the date and time of the activities and the content ofthe activities, and an activity management apparatus (2) that has amemory device (31) that stores the activity data and manages theactivity data in the memory device (31) according to the instructions ofthe client terminal (1). The activity management apparatus (2) providesa data control device (23) that reads activity data from the memorydevice (31) and a display instruction device (21) that sends theactivity data that has been read to the client terminal (1) and directsthe display thereof. The client terminal (1) provides a reception device(13) that receives the activity data from the activity managementapparatus (2); a calendar screen providing device (15) that provides thescreen data for a calendar screen that displays the field correspondingto a day and time period in a predetermined interval; and a displayprocessing device (12) that generates the screen data for an activitydetail screen that displays the activity data, and at the same time,generates screen data for the activity calendar screen after displaydata for displaying information about a portion of the content of theactivity corresponding to the date and time has been added to the screendata for the calendar screen in the field corresponding to the date andtime shown by the activity data, and outputs on one screen the screendata for the activity detail screen and the activity calendar screen.

In addition, the present invention is an activity management method inan activity management system that includes a client terminal (1) thatdirects the management of activity data that includes information aboutthe date and time of the activity and the content of the activity and anactivity management apparatus (2) that has a memory device (31) thatstores activity data and manages the activity data inside the memorydevice (31) according to instructions from the client terminal (1). Theactivity management device (2) reads the activity data from the memorydevice (31) (S130), and directs the display thereof by sending theactivity data that has been read to the client terminal (1) (S160); andthe client terminal (1) receives the activity data from the activitymanagement device (2) (S160), obtains the screen data for the calendarscreen that displays the field corresponding to the date and time periodin a predetermined interval (S175), and generates the screen data forthe activity detail screen that displays the activity data. At the sametime, the client terminal (1) generates screen data for an activitycalendar screen after display data for displaying information about aportion of content of the activity corresponding to the date and timehas been added to the screen data for the calendar screen in the fieldcorresponding to the date and time shown by the activity data, andoutputs on one screen the screen data for the activity detail screen andactivity calendar screen (S180 to S190). In addition, the presentinvention is an activity management method in an activity managementsystem that includes a client terminal (1) that directs the managementof the activity data that includes information about the date and timeof the activity and the content of the activity and an activitymanagement apparatus (2) that has a memory device (31) that stores theactivity data and manages the activity data in the memory device (31)according to instructions from the client terminal (1). The activitymanagement device (2) reads the activity data from the memory device(31) (S130) and directs the display thereof by sending the activity datathat has been read to the client terminal (1) (S160); and the clientterminal (1) receives the activity data from the activity managementdevice (2) (S160), obtains the screen data for the calendar screen thatdisplays a field corresponding to the date or a time period in apredetermined interval (S175), and generates the screen data for theactivity detail screen that displays the activity data. At the sametime, the client terminal (1) generates the screen data for the activitycalendar screen after display data for displaying information about aportion of the content of the activity corresponding to a date and timehas been added to the screen data for the calendar screen in the fieldcorresponding to the date and time shown by the activity data, andoutputs on one screen the screen data for the activity detail screen andthe activity calendar screen (S180 to S190).

In addition, the present invention provides a computer program, whichmakes a computer execute the steps of the above method, for an activitymanagement apparatus and for a client terminal.

According to the invention described above, in an activity managementsystem that manages the information about an activity related to a dateand a time, it is possible to display on one screen in the clientterminal a detail display screen that displays the content of theactivity and an activity calendar screen that adds and displays aportion of the content of the activity corresponding to the date andtime of the activity in a calendar screen provided by commerciallyavailable applications that a client terminal maintains therein. Inaddition, for an operator, it is possible to provide editing ofinformation while linking the display of the information about theactivity in a detail display screen and an activity calendar screen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the configuration of the CRM systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the CRMserver shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of theclient terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an example of the setting of the activitydata maintained by the DB server shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the operating sequence of the CRM systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a drawing showing the operating sequence of the CRM systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a drawing showing the operating sequence of the CRM systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a drawing showing the operating sequence of the CRM systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a drawing showing the operating sequence of the CRM systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 16 is a drawing showing an example of the screen image output bythe client terminal shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Below, an embodiment of this invention will be explained with referenceto the figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the CRM (CustomerRelationship Management) system that serves as an activity managementsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention. The CRMsystem connects a CRM server 2 (activity management device) thatprovides a DB server 3 and a plurality of client terminals 1 via anetwork N. The network N is configured by using a private network suchas a LAN (Local Area Network) or a public network such as the Internetor a VPN (virtual private network).

The database server 3 (below, referred to as the “DB server 3”) has amemory unit 31 that maintains the activity data. The activity data isinformation that shows the results and schedules of the activities ofemployees, and here, an example is shown in which the activities are abusiness activities. The activity data includes data numbers thatunambiguously identify each activity data, employee numbers thatunambiguously identify employees, information about events for all daysthat shows the events related to a certain entire day, and informationsuch as activity detail information that shows the detailed contents ofan activity for each of the activities. Events for all days includesinformation such as a date and an event text that shows an explanationof the event related to the relevant day. In addition, the activitydetail information includes the starting and ending date and time of theactivity, the customer, an activity text that shows a simple explanationof the activity, the customer representative, the person responsiblein-house, the priority, the status indicating the state of progress, theresults of the activity, the activity reason that shows the reason thatthe activity was carried out, arbitrary memos by the registrant of thedata, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows in more detail the internal unitsof the CRM server 2 that serves as an activity management apparatus. TheCRM server 2 provides a display instruction unit 21, an output controlunit 22, and a data control unit 23.

The data control unit 23 accesses the DB server 3, and reads, writes,and deletes the activity data in the memory unit 31 employing anarbitrary data access format that is used between the CRM server 2 andthe DB server 3. In addition, the data control unit 23 transfers theactivity data read from the memory unit 31 of the DB server 3 and theedited data showing the edited content of the activity data that hasbeen carried out at the client terminal 1 to the output control unit 22,and directs the generation and updating of the activity managementscreen displayed on the client terminal 1.

An activity management screen is a screen for carrying out the displayof activity data and editing, such as registration, modifications,deletions and the like, and is formed by a header screen, an activitycalendar screen, and an activity detail screen. The header screen is ascreen that shows the information about the employee who carries out thebusiness activities. The activity calendar is a screen for displayingthe activity text in a field for a date and time period corresponding tothe starting date and time and the ending date and time of the activityand for editing the activity text in a calendar screen that displays afield such as days in monthly or weekly units and the time periods in asingle day. In addition, the activity detail screen is a screen forcarrying out the display and editing of the activity detail information.

The output control unit 22 converts the description of the activity dataand edited data received from the data control unit 23 to XML(extensible markup language), which is a general-use data descriptionformat, by tag conversion. The data control unit 22 transfers theactivity data and edited data converted to the description format to thedisplay instruction unit 21 and directs the output of the screen to theclient terminal 1. In addition, the output control unit 22 transfers theoperating instructions received from the client terminal 1 via thedisplay instruction unit 21 to the display instruction unit 21, and atthe same time converts the edited data received from the client terminal1 to a data description format compatible with the data access formatused between the output control unit 22 and the DB servers 3.

The display instruction unit 21 generates display instruction data thatadds the instructions for generating the screen data for the clientterminal 1 to the activity data or edited data received from the outputcontrol unit 22, and sends this data to the client terminal 1. Inaddition, the operating instructions and edited data received from theclient terminal 1 are transferred to the output control unit 22.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clientterminal 1, and isolates and shows only the function block related tothe present invention. The client terminal 1 may be, for example, apersonal computer, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile telephone,or the like.

The client terminal 1 includes a browser 11, a display processing unit12, a sending and receiving unit 13, a layout data memory unit 14, and acalendar screen providing unit 15.

The sending and receiving unit 13 transfers the display instruction datareceived from the CRM server 2 to the display processing unit 12. Inaddition, the information about the operating instructions by the userreceived from the display processing unit 12 and the edited data aretransferred to the CRM server 2.

The layout data memory unit 14 maintains the layout data for theactivity management screen. The layout data for the activity managementscreen includes information such as a layout number, the types for theheader screen, the activity calendar screen, and activity detail screen,the layout position, size, and the like, and detailed layout informationfor the header screen, the activity detail screen, and the activity datascreen, and the like. The detailed layout information includesinformation such as objects that cannot be changed by the setting valuesfor each unit of information included in the activity data (for example,the display positions for characters, images, operation buttons, rulerlines, and the like), size, color, thickness, font (in the case ofcharacters), and information whose setting values can or cannot beedited, such as the display position of each of the setting values ofinformation included in the activity data, size, color, and font.

The calendar screen providing unit 15 is a commercially availablescheduling management application provided in the client terminal 1, andprovides calendar screen data. The calendar screen data is data fordisplaying fields corresponding a month unit, a day in each unit, or atime period in a single day and outputting the data for a day and timethat the user has selected by using a pointing device such as a mouse orthe like.

The display processing unit 12 generates and updates the screen data forthe activity management screen based on the display instruction datareceived from the CRM server 2, the layout data read from the layoutdata memory unit 14, and the calendar screen data provided from thecalendar screen providing unit 15. In addition, the operatinginformation that displays the operation that has been directed on theactivity management screen displayed by the browser 11 and the editeddata that shows the content of the additions, modifications, deletions,and the like of activity data are transferred to the sending andreceiving unit 13.

The browser 11 shows the web screen data in a display device (notillustrated) such as the display of a client terminal 1.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the settings of the activity data. In thisfigure, in the activity data, the data number “XXXXXX”, employee number“S123456”, the employee name “Tom Smith”, the list of information aboutevents for all days, and the list of the activity detail information areregistered. The list of the information about events for all daysincludes the information about events for all days comprising the date“Jul. 27, 2004” and the event text “ZY Corporation Visit Preparation”,and the information about events for all days including the date “Jul.28, 2004” and event text “production of materials for Mr. Jones”. Inaddition, the list for the activity detail information includes activitydetail information comprising the starting date and time “Jul. 27, 2004;13:00:00”, the ending date and time “Jul. 27, 2004; 15:30:00”, customer“ABC Co. Ltd”, the activity text “visit to ABC Co. Ltd.”, the priority“high”, the status “open”, etc., and activity detail informationcomprising the start date and time “Aug. 3, 2004; 10:00:00”, the endingtime “Aug. 3, 2004; 11:00:00”, the customer “LMN Co. Ltd.”, activitytext “arrangements for OO company”, the customer representative “XX”,the responsible person “YY”, the priority “Medium”, the status “open”,etc.

FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 show examples of the screen image of the activitymanagement screen. In the activity management screen shown in FIG. 10,the header screen is displayed at the top, the activity calendar screenis displayed on the middle, and the activity detail screen is displayedat the bottom. In addition, the header screen displays the searchbutton, the employee number, and the employee name. The activitycalendar screen displays a color indicating that an activity has beenregistered in the field of the date and time period corresponding to thestarting date and time and the ending date and time of the activity inthe calendar screen for the time period in a single day or a one monthunit, and further displays an activity text in this field. The activitydetail screen displays each of the setting values of the activity detailinformation.

FIG. 11 displays the activity by using an activity calendar screenhaving a one week unit instead of the activity calendar screen having aone month unit in the activity calendar screen of FIG. 10.

In addition, FIG. 12 shows the display method in the case that theactivities occur the same date and time. In the case that the activitiesoccur the same date and time, the activity texts are arranged side byside and displayed on the activity calendar screen in the time perioddisplay.

Note that it is possible to switch the activity calendar screen to theone month unit display, the one week unit display and the like byclicking the tab in the activity calendar screen with a mouse.

Next, the operation of the CRM system will be explained.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing the operating sequence of the activitymanagement screen display.

First, the employee accesses the CRM server 2 from the client terminal1, inputs his own employee number, and logs in. Next, a request todisplay the activity management screen is sent to the CRM server 2 viathe sending and receiving unit 13 from the display processing unit 12 ofthe client terminal 1 (steps S110, S115).

The data control unit 23 of the CRM server 2 receives the request todisplay the activity management screen from the client terminal 1 viathe display instruction unit 21 and the output control unit 22 (stepsS120, S125). Thereby, the data control unit 23 reads the activity datafrom the DB server 3 using the employee number received when logging inas a key (step S130) and stores this internally. However, at this time,for the information about events for all days, the data control unit 23reads only information in which the month that is identical to the monthin which the display request was received is set in the day information,and for the activity detail information, the data control unit readsonly the information in which the month that is identical to the monthin which the display request was received is set in the starting dateand time or the ending date and time information. The data control unit23 selects only information necessary for the activity management screendisplay among the activity data that has been read (step S135). Then thedata control unit 23 calls a method of the activity management screendisplay in the output control unit 22, transfers the selected activitydata, and directs the display thereof in the activity management screen(step S140). The information necessary for the activity managementscreen display includes the data number, the employee number, theemployee name, and among the activity detail information, the startingdate and time, the ending date and time, the activity text. Thisinformation further includes activity detail information havingpredetermined conditions, for example, the activity detail informationfor an activity on the date that the request for display of the activitymanagement screen was received.

The output control unit 22 converts the activity data received from thedata control unit 23 to an XML description (step S145). Then the outputcontrol unit 22 transfers to the display instruction unit 21 theactivity data whose description has been converted, and directs thedisplay of the activity management screen in the client terminal 1 (stepS150). The display instruction unit 21 generates the display instructiondata by embedding instructions for generating screen data for theactivity management screen in the activity data received from the outputcontrol unit 22 (step S155), and sends this data to the client terminal1 (step S160). Examples of instructions for generating screen data arecommands that refresh the activity management screen and layout numbersthat direct the layout of the activity management screen.

The sending and receiving unit 13 of the client terminal 1 transfers thedisplay instruction data received from the display instruction unit 21to the display processing unit 12 (step S165). When the displayprocessing unit 12 recognizes that it has been directed by the displayinstruction data on the display of the activity management screen (stepS170), the display processing unit 12 reads the layout datacorresponding to the layout number in the display instruction data fromthe layout data memory unit 14. Then the header screen, the activitycalendar screen, and the activity detail screen are generated accordingto the layout data.

For the header screen, screen data is generated that displays theemployee search button, the employee number, and employee name in theactivity data included in the received display instruction data at adisplay position directed by the layout data.

In addition, when the activity calendar screen is generated, the screendata for the calendar screen for the relevant month, relevant week, or atime period in a single day directed by the layout data from thecalendar screen providing unit 15 is read (step S175). Here, it isassumed that the calendar screen of the relevant month and the timeperiod in a single day shown by the activity detail information is read.The display processing unit 12 displays a color indicating that there isan activity in the field of the day corresponding to the starting dayand time and the ending day and time of each of the activities in theactivity data included in the display instruction data for the screendata of the calendar screen having a month unit display as directed bythe layout data. Furthermore, screen data, to which display data fordisplaying the activity text corresponding to this starting date andtime and the ending date and time has been added, is generated.Similarly, a color is displayed that indicates that there is an activitydisplayed in a field for the time period corresponding to the startingdate and time and the ending date and time for each of the activities inthe activity data included in the display instruction data for thescreen data of the calendar screen of the time period in a single day asdirected by the layout data. Furthermore, screen data, to which displaydata for displaying the activity text of the activity corresponding tothis starting date and time and the ending date and time has been added,is generated.

In addition, for the activity detail screen, screen data is generatedthat displays edited fields that display by default the operationbuttons such as register, save, copy, and delete, events for all daysdisplay button, each data name of the activity detail information, andeach of the setting values of the information about the activity detailinformation included in the display instruction data as directed by thelayout data.

The display processing unit 12 generates activity management screen datacomprising each unit of the generated screen data (step S180) andtransfers this data to the browser 11 (step S185). This screen data isdescribed by a data format that can be displayed by a browser 11, forexample, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). The browser 11 displays theactivity management screen data (FIG. 10) received from the displayprocessing unit 12 on a display (step S190).

Note that even in the case that the activity management screen of amonth different from the month when logging in is displayed, processingidentical to that in FIG. 5 is used. The employee inputs the informationindicating the year and month of the display object in the clientterminal 1. For example, in the example of the screen shown in FIG. 10,the button A11 or A12 for indicating the previous month or the nextmonth is clicked. Thereby, the client terminal 1 notifies the CRM server2 about the object specifying information that shows the informationabout the year and month of the display object along with the request todisplay the activity management screen. Then, in step S130, the datacontrol unit 23 of the CRM server 2 reads the activity data for themonth indicated by the object specifying information from the DB server4 using the employee number received during login as a key. In stepS175, the calendar screen of the indicated month is read.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operating sequence of the activitydetail information display.

The employee clicks the activity text A21 or A22 that displays thedetails in the activity calendar screen in the activity managementscreen that is displayed on the client terminal 1 (refer to FIG. 10).Thereby, the display processing unit 12 of the client terminal 1receives the display request data from the browser 11 (step S210). Thedisplay request data includes an operation type showing that an activitydetail information display has been requested and object specifyinginformation for specifying the activity selected as the object thatdisplays the activity detail information. A data number, the startingdate and time and the ending date and time of the activity, the activitytext and the like are used in the object specification information. Thesending and receiving unit 13 notifies the CRM server 3 about thedisplay request data received by the display processing unit 12 (stepS215, step S220).

The output control unit 22 of the CRM server 2 converts this displayrequest data into a data format compatible with the data access formatused between the CRM server 2 and the DB server 3 when the displayrequest data is received via the display instruction unit 21, andtransfers this converted data to the data control unit 23 (step S225 toS235). When the display request data is received, the data control unit23 obtains the activity detail information that matches the objectspecification information from the activity data stored internally. Thedata control unit 23 calls a method of the output control unit 22 forupdating the activity detail screen and transfers the obtained activitydetail information (step S240).

The output control unit 22 transfers the activity detail information tothe display instruction unit 21 after the activity detail informationhas been converted to an XML description, and directs the updating ofthe activity detail screen (steps S245, S250). The data instruction unit21 generates display instruction data that has embedded instructions forgenerating the screen data of the activity detail screen in the activitydetail information and sending this converted data to the clientterminal 1 (steps S255, S260). At this time, for example, a command toupdate the activity detail screen is added.

The sending and receiving unit 13 of the client terminal 1 transfers thedisplay instruction data received from the CRM server 2 to the displayinstruction unit 12 and directs the updating of the activity detailscreen (step S265).

The display processing unit 12 refers to the layout data of the activitymanagement screen currently displayed and generates screen data for theactivity detail screen for displaying the setting value of the activitydetail information in the received display instruction data (step S270).The browser 11 receives and outputs the screen data generated by thedisplay instruction unit 12 and updates the activity detail screen(steps S275, S280).

FIG. 7 is a drawing that shows the operating sequence of an events forall days display.

Employees click the check box A31 for displaying the events for all daysin the activity detail screen in the activity management screendisplayed on the client terminal 1 with a mouse (refer to FIG. 10).Thereby, the display processing unit 12 of the client terminal 1receives display request data from a browser 11 (step S310). The displayrequest data includes an operation type that shows that an events forall days display has been requested and object specification informationfor specifying the events for all days of the display object. The objectspecification information sets the data number, the day displayed in thefield of the activity detail screen for the starting date and time, andthe like. The sending and receiving unit 13 notifies the CRM server 2about the display request data that the display processing unit 12 hasreceived (steps S315, S320).

When the display request data is received via the display instructionunit 21, the output control unit 22 of the CRM server 2 converts thisdisplay request data to a data format compatible with the data accessformat used between the CRM server 2 and the DB server 3, and thisconverted data is transferred to the data control unit 23 (steps S325 toS335). When the display request data is received, the data control unit23 obtains the information about events for all days matching the objectspecification information from the activity data stored internally. Thedata control unit 23 calls a method of the output control unit 22 forthe events for all days display and transfers this obtained informationabout events for all days (step S340).

The output control unit 22 converts the information about events for alldays to an XML description, transfers this converted data to the displayinstruction unit 21, and then directs the update of the activitycalendar screen so as to display the events for all days (steps S345,S350). The display instruction unit 21 generates display instructiondata that embeds the instruction for generating the screen data of theactivity calendar screen in the information about events for all days,and sends this data to the client terminal 1 (steps S355, S360). At thistime, for example, a command to display the events for all days in theactivity calendar screen is added.

The sending and receiving unit 13 of the client terminal 1 transfers thedisplay instruction data received from the CRM server 2 to the displayprocessing unit 12 and directs the display of the events for all days inthe activity calendar screen (step S365). The display processing unit 12generates screen data in which display data that displays the event textincluded in the information about events for all days in the displayinstruction data is added to the screen data for the activity calendarscreen currently displayed (step S370). The browser 11 receives thescreen data generated by the display processing unit 12, outputs thedata to the display, and updates the activity calendar screen (stepsS375, S380).

FIG. 13 shows the activity management screen that displays the eventtext for the information about events for all days. In this figure, inthe upper part of the activity calendar screen in the time period for asingle day, the day in which display is carried out according to thepresent time period and the event text for this day are displayed.

Next, the editing sequence of the activity data from the activitycalendar screen will be explained. First, the sequence in which theaddition of an activity is carried out is shown. FIG. 14 is a drawingthat shows the screen image during the activity addition, and FIG. 8 isa drawing that shows the operating sequence in the activity data editingfrom the activity calendar screen.

In the activity calendar screen in the activity management screen thatis displayed on the client terminal 1, the employee indicates with amouse the starting date and time and the ending date and time to whichthe activity is to be added. For example, in the activity calendarscreen of the month unit or the week unit display, the day A41, in whichan activity data is to be updated, is clicked. The display processingunit 12 of the client terminal 1 generates and displays screen data forthe activity calendar screen of the time period for the single day ofthe date that has been clicked based on the display instruction datareceived from the CRM server 2 during the screen data generation of theactivity management screen currently displayed, and updates the activitycalendar screen. Next, in the activity calendar screen of the timeperiod of a single day displayed by the client terminal 1, the employeedrags the time period A42 to which the activity is to be added using amouse. Next, the activity text A43 is input using a keyboard. Thereby,the display processing unit 12 of the client terminal 1 receives theinput edited data from the browser 11. The edited data includesinformation about the operation type that shows that an activity hasbeen added in the activity calendar screen, a data number, the addedstarting date and time and ending date and time, and the activity text.The sending and receiving unit 13 notifies the CRM server 2 about theedited data that the display processing unit 12 has received (stepsS415, S420).

When the edited data is received via the display instruction unit 21,the output control unit 22 of the CRM server 2 converts this edited datato a data format compatible with the data access format used between theCRM server 2 and the DB server 3, and transfers this converted data tothe data control unit 23 (steps S425 to S435). The data control unit 23calls a method of updating the activity detail screen in the outputcontrol unit 22, and transfers the edited data (step S440).

The output control unit 22 converts the edited data to an XMLdescription, transfers this converted data to the display instructionunit 21, and directs the addition of the activity to the activity detailscreen and the month unit (or week unit) display of the activitycalendar screen (steps S445, S450). The display instruction unit 21generates display instruction data that embeds instructions forgenerating the screen data in the edited data, and sends this data tothe client terminal 1 (steps S455, S460). At this time, for example, acommand that updates the activity detail screen and a command thatupdates the activity calendar screen having a month unit display areadded.

The sending and receiving unit 13 of the client terminal 1 transfers thedisplay instruction data received from the CRM server 2 to the displayprocessing unit 12, and directs the updating of the activity detailscreen and the activity calendar screen having a month unit or a weekunit display (step S465).

The display instruction unit 12 refers to the layout data of theactivity management screen currently displayed, and generates screendata for the activity detail screen that displays the starting date andtime, the ending date and time, and the activity text that is includedin the edited data in the received display instruction data. Then in thecurrently displayed activity calendar screen having a monthly unitdisplay, screen data for the activity calendar screen is generated thatadds and displays the activity text in the field of the day according tothe starting date and time and the ending date and time (step S470). Thebrowser 11 receives and outputs the screen data generated by the displayprocessing unit 12, and updates the activity management screen (stepsS475, S480, and FIG. 14).

Note that in the activity calendar screen, in the case that the activitytext is corrected, updating of the activity management screen is carriedout using processing identical to that described above.

In addition, in the activity calendar screen, in the case that theactivity text is deleted, in the sequence shown in FIG. 8, edited datathat includes the operation type that indicates an activity has beendeleted and object specification information that specifies the deletedactivity are transferred from the client terminal 1 to the CRM server 2.The object specification information is information such as, forexample, the data number, the starting date and time and the ending dateand time of the deleted activity, and the activity text. In addition, instep S435, the data control unit 23 deletes the activity detailinformation specified by the object specifying information from theactivity data in the memory unit 31 of the DB server 3. In addition, forexample, in the case that the activity text in the activity calendarscreen for a time period in a single day is deleted, in step S455, acommand is added that deletes the activity text of the deleted activityfrom the activity detail screen and the activity calendar screen havinga monthly unit display. In step S470, the screen data in which thedisplay data of the activity text depending on the starting date andtime and the ending date and time in the display instruction data hasbeen deleted from the screen data of the currently displayed activitycalendar screen and the activity detail screen in which the edited fieldfor each setting value of the activity detail information has been setto NULL are displayed.

Next, the sequence for activity data editing from the activity detailscreen will be explained. First, the sequence in which the addition ofan activity is carried out is shown. FIG. 9 is a drawing showing theoperating sequence of activity data editing in the activity detailscreen.

The employee inputs the setting value of the activity detail informationfor the added activity in the activity detail screen of the activitymanagement screen displayed on the client terminal 1, and presses theregistration button A51 for indicating the updating of the activity datain the DB server 3 (refer to FIG. 14). Thereby, the display processingunit 12 of the client terminal 1 receives the edited data from thebrowser 11 (step S510). The edited data includes information about theoperation type, which shows that the registration of activity detailinformation in the activity detail screen has been requested, datanumber, and the setting value of the activity detail information inputinto the edited field. The sending and receiving unit 13 notifies theCRM server 2 about the edited data that the display processing unit hasreceived (step S515, S520).

When the display instruction unit 21 of the CRM server 2 receives theedited data, the output control unit 22 converts this edited data to adata format compatible with the data access format used between the CRMserver 2 and the DB server 3, and transfers this converted data to thedata control unit 23 (steps S525 to S535). The data control unit 23 addsand registers this activity detail information indicated by the editeddata to the activity data in the memory unit 31 of the DB server 3 (stepS540). Next, the data control unit 23 selects the data necessary for theactivity calendar screen from the edited data and calls and transfers amethod of the activity calendar screen update in the output control unit22 (step S545). Data that is necessary for the activity calendar screendenotes, for example, a data number, the starting date and time, theending date and time, the activity text, and the like.

The output control unit 22 converts the edited data to an XMLdescription and transfers this data to the display instruction unit 21,and directs the addition of the activity to the activity calendar screen(steps S550, S555). The display instruction unit 21 generates thedisplay instruction data that has embedded instructions for generatingthe screen data in the edited data, and transfers this data to theclient terminal 1 (steps S560, S565). At this time, for example, acommand that adds and displays the activity text in the activitycalendar screen is added.

The sending and receiving unit 13 of the client terminal 1 transfers thedisplay instruction data received from the CRM server 2 to the displayprocessing unit 12, and directs the updating of the activity calendarscreen (step S570).

The display processing unit 12 refers to the layout data for thecurrently displayed activity management screen and generates activitycalendar screen data in the received display instruction data that addsand displays an activity text (step S575). That is, display data thatdisplays a color indicating that an activity is present and display datathat displays an activity text are added to the screen data of thecurrently displayed activity calendar screen in the field of the datecorresponding to the starting date and time and the ending date and timeincluded in the edited data in the display instruction data. The browser11 receives and outputs the screen data of the activity calendar screengenerated by the display instruction unit 12, and updates the activitymanagement screen (steps S580 and S585).

Note that, in the case that setting values for the activity detailsinformation such as the added activity starting date and time and endingdate and time, the activity text or the like are input in the activitydetail screen but registration is not indicated, the processing of step540, in which the activity data in the memory unit 31 of the DB server 3is updated, is not executed.

In addition, in the activity detail screen, in the case that theactivity detail data is corrected, the updating of the activity data inthe memory unit 31 of the DB server 3 and the updating of the activitymanagement screen shown by the client terminal 1 is carried out byprocessing that is identical to that described above.

FIG. 15 shows the screen image when a deletion has been directed in theactivity detail screen. In the case that the activity is deleted in theactivity detail screen, an operation identical to that in FIG. 9 iscarried out.

An employee clicks the delete button A52 in the activity detail screenin which the activity detail information to be deleted is displayed.Thereby, in step S510, the display processing unit 12 receives theedited data that includes the operation type, which indicates that thedeletion of activity detail information has been requested, and objectspecification information, which specifies the activity detailinformation that is the object of deletion. The activity detailinformation for the deleted object such as a data number, the startingdate and time and ending date and time of the activity, the activitytext, and the like is used in the object specification information. Inaddition, in step S540, the data control unit 23 deletes the activitydetail information specified by the object specification informationfrom the activity data in the memory unit 31 of the DB server 3. Then,in step S560, the command that deletes the activity text from theactivity calendar screen is added. In step S575, the display data of theactivity text displayed in the field of the starting date and time andthe ending date and time of the activity detail information included inthe edited data is deleted from the screen data of the currentlydisplayed activity calendar screen. At the same time, the display datathat displays a color indicating that there is no activity in therelevant field is added.

Next, the sequence for the case in which the activity data of anotheremployee is referenced will be explained.

FIG. 16 is a screen image of the case in which the activity data ofanother employee is referenced.

When referring to the activity data of another employee, an employee whologs in from the client terminal 1 clicks the employee search button A61displayed on the header screen in the activity management screen.Thereby, the browser 11 displays the search screen. The employee inputsinto the search screen information that specifies the employee who isthe display object of the activity data. The information that specifiesthe input employee who is the search object is transferred from theclient terminal 1 to the CRM server 2. Using a processing identical tothat in FIG. 5, the CRM server 2 sends the display instruction data tothe client terminal 1, and the client terminal 1 displays the activitymanagement screen. However, because the employee who has logged in tothe CRM server 2 differs from the employee who is being searched, instep S155, an instruction that enables an operation limited to referringto the activity data is embedded in the display instruction data.Thereby, in step S180, the display processing unit 12 displays settingvalues for the activity data so as disable editing of the activity, suchas adding, updating, deleting and the like, in the activity managementscreen.

In addition, when the copy button is pushed while the activity detailinformation about another referenced employee is displayed on theactivity management screen, the client terminal 1 copies and displaysthe setting value of the activity detail information about the otheremployee in the edited field of the activity detail information in theactivity detail screen of the employee who has logged in. The employeeedits his own setting values in the edited field in the activity detailscreen as necessary, and executes the processing shown in FIG. 9.

In the embodiment described above, a business activity served as anactivity, but any arbitrary activity related to an arbitrary business,the results of training, reports, schedules, and medial records or thelike are possible.

According to the embodiment described above, in a CRM system (activitymanagement system) that manages activity data, it is possible to displayon one screen in the client terminal 1 the detail display screen thatdisplays the activity detail information and the activity calendarscreen that adds and displays activity text according to the date andtime of the activity in the calendar screen provided by a commerciallyavailable application stored by the client terminal. In addition, it ispossible to provide activity data editing while linking the display ofthe activity data in the activity detail screen and the activitycalendar screen.

Note that the client terminal 1, the CRM server 2, and the DB server 3described above have an internal computer system. In addition, each unitof the client terminal 1 described above, each unit of the CRM server 2,and the steps of the operation of the memory unit 31 of the DB server 3are stored on a computer readable recording medium in a program format,and the processing described above can be carried out by this programbeing read and executed by a computer system. A computer system denotesthe OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

In addition, a “computer readable recording medium” denotes, in additionto ROM, removable media such as a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk,CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or the like, and a memory apparatus such as a hard diskbuild into a computer system. Furthermore, a “computer readablerecording medium” denotes devices that temporarily store a program in asystem when the program is sent via a network such as the Internet or acommunication circuit such as a telephone line, and flash memory (RAM)in the computer system serving as the client.

In addition, the program described above may be sent to another computersystem from the computer system that stores this program in a memoryapparatus or the like via a sending medium or using sending waves in thesending medium. Here, the “sending medium” that sends the programdenotes a medium having the capacity to send information, such as anetwork (communication network) such as the Internet or a communicationcircuit (communication line) such as a telephone circuit.

The program described above may be for realizing a portion of thefunctions described above. Furthermore, the function described above maybe realized by a combination of programs already stored in a computersystem, such as what is called a distributed file (distributed program).

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated above, it should be understood that these are exemplary ofthe invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions,omissions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as being limited bythe foregoing description, and is only limited by the scope of theappended claims.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, at a server system hosting a customer relationship management (CRM) application, a request from a client device for an activity management screen that integrates a registration screen with a calendar screen; retrieving, using the server system, activity data to be displayed in the registration screen; generating instructions for displaying the activity management screen on the client device, wherein the instructions are configured to be executed by the client device and, when executed by the client device, to cause the client device to: retrieve calendar data to be displayed in the calendar screen from a calendaring application local to the client device, wherein the calendaring application maintains persistent data from which the calendar data is retrieved; generate the activity management screen comprising the registration screen containing the activity data and the calendar screen containing the calendar data; identify at least one business activity from the activity data to be indicated in the calendar screen; and modify the calendar data to incorporate the identified at least one business activity such that the identified at least one business activity is indicated in the calendar screen, wherein the persistent data of the local calendar application is unaffected by the modification of the calendar data; and providing the activity data and the generated instructions to the client device.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to: receive input corresponding to a user of the client device editing a business activity in the registration screen to be associated with a specified date; in response to receiving the input, modify the calendar data such that the edited business activity is displayed in the calendar screen for the specified date, and such that the persistent data of the local calendar application is unaffected by modifying the calendar data; and update the calendar screen to display the edited business activity for the specified date such that the edited first business activity is displayed concurrently in the calendar screen and in the registration screen.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to: transmit to the CRM application information indicating edits made to the business activity, and receive from the CRM application a command to update the calendar screen, wherein the calendar screen is updated in response to receiving the command to update from the CRM application; and the computer-implemented method further comprising: receiving, at the server system, the transmitted information indicating the edits made to the business activity; updating a data record maintained by the CRM application corresponding to the business activity to reflect the edits made to the business activity; and transmitting the command to update the calendar screen to the client device.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to generate the activity management screen to display the calendar screen and the registration screen at a same time.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to retrieve calendar data corresponding to a specified period of time.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the activity data is retrieved for the specified period of time.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the specified period of time is a current month.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving login information for a user of the client device for authenticating with the CRM application; authenticating the user to receive the requested information for displaying the activity management screen based on the received login information; wherein retrieving the activity data comprises, in response to the user being authenticated, retrieving activity data corresponding to the user; and wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to restrict the retrieved calendar data to calendar data corresponding to the user.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to update the calendar screen to display the modified calendar data.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the registration screen is configured to display business activities and to provide an interface for editing business activities; and wherein the calendar screen is configured to display events within a specified period of time and to provide an interface for editing events.
 11. An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising: receiving, at a server system hosting a CRM application, a request from a client device for an activity management screen that integrates a registration screen with a calendar screen; retrieving, using the server system, activity data to be displayed in the registration screen; generating instructions for displaying the activity management screen on the client device, wherein the instructions are configured to be executed by the client device and, when executed by the client device, to cause the client device to: retrieve calendar data to be displayed in the calendar screen from a calendaring application local to the client device, wherein the calendaring application maintains persistent data from which the calendar data is retrieved; generate the activity management screen comprising the registration screen containing the activity data and the calendar screen containing the calendar data; identify at least one business activity from the activity data to be indicated in the calendar screen; and modify the calendar data to incorporate the identified at least one business activity such that the identified at least one business activity is indicated in the calendar screen, wherein the persistent data of the local calendar application is unaffected by the modification of the calendar data; and providing the activity data and the generated instructions to the client device.
 12. The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to: receive input corresponding to a user of the client device editing a business activity in the registration screen to be associated with a specified date; in response to receiving the input, modify the calendar data such that the edited business activity is displayed in the calendar screen for the specified date, and such that the persistent data of the local calendar application is unaffected by modifying the calendar data; and update the calendar screen to display the edited business activity for the specified date such that the edited first business activity is displayed concurrently in the calendar screen and in the registration screen.
 13. The article of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to: transmit to the CRM application information indicating edits made to the business activity, and receive from the CRM application a command to update the calendar screen, wherein the calendar screen is updated in response to receiving the command to update from the CRM application; and the operations further comprising: receiving, at the server system, the transmitted information indicating the edits made to the business activity; updating a data record maintained by the CRM application corresponding to the business activity to reflect the edits made to the business activity; and transmitting the command to update the calendar screen to the client device.
 14. The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to generate the activity management screen to display the calendar screen and the registration screen at a same time.
 15. The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to retrieve calendar data corresponding to a specified period of time.
 16. The article of claim 15, wherein the activity data is retrieved for the specified period of time.
 17. The article of claim 15, wherein the specified period of time is a current month.
 18. The article of claim 11, the operations further comprising: receiving login information for a user of the client device for authenticating with the CRM application; authenticating the user to receive the requested information for displaying the activity management screen based on the received login information; wherein retrieving the activity data comprises, in response to the user being authenticated, retrieving activity data corresponding to the user; and wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to restrict the retrieved calendar data to calendar data corresponding to the user.
 19. The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the client device to update the calendar screen to display the modified calendar data.
 20. A system comprising: a server hosting a CRM application; an interface to the server that is configured to receive a request from a client device for an activity management screen that integrates a registration screen with a calendar screen; a storage unit of the server that is configured to store activity data for the CRM application; a data control unit of the server that is configured to retrieve activity data stored in the storage unit for displayed in the registration screen; and a display instruction unit of the server that is configured to generate instructions for displaying the activity management screen on the client device, wherein the instructions are configured to be executed by the client device and, when executed by the client device, to cause the client device to: retrieve calendar data to be displayed in the calendar screen from a calendaring application local to the client device, wherein the calendaring application maintains persistent data from which the calendar data is retrieved; generate the activity management screen comprising the registration screen containing the activity data and the calendar screen containing the calendar data; identify at least one business activity from the activity data to be indicated in the calendar screen; and modify the calendar data to incorporate the identified at least one business activity such that the identified at least one business activity is indicated in the calendar screen, wherein the persistent data of the local calendar application is unaffected by the modification of the calendar data; wherein the display instruction unit is further configured to transmit the activity data and the generated instructions to the client device. 